


Drunk talks, sober thoughts

by hopelessly_me



Series: HPC 2020 [4]
Category: Marvel
Genre: Confused Clint, F/M, Post-Mission, annoyed Nat, drinking game, proposal, stuck inside, tipsy Nat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:07:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22655248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopelessly_me/pseuds/hopelessly_me
Summary: When bad weather forced Clint and Natasha to take shelter in a tiny hotel room for several days on end, they play a drinking game that Natasha never loses- until today.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov
Series: HPC 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1619281
Comments: 6
Kudos: 63
Collections: MHEA Harlequin Hoopla Prompt Challenge 2020





	Drunk talks, sober thoughts

“Drink.”

“Bullshit.”

Clint rose an eyebrow, spinning his glass in his hands and watching the way the vodka twirled around. “Beijing, 2005. Five hours. Drink.” He looked back up at Natasha.

Natasha considered this for a moment before she swore. “Your life is a mess,” she said before she polished off her glass. “Never married.”

“Drink. You married Alexei,” Clint pointed out.

“How did you even remember that?” Natasha asked before she grabbed the bottle between them and poured herself a shot.

“Just… did I guess,” Clint answered.

They had been stuck in that tiny hotel room for close to thirty-eight hours and this was the only productive thing they could think about doing. The hurricane had altered its course, naturally, and prevented them from heading home. Even when Natasha challenged Clint to fly the quinjet, taunting him and calling names, Clint declined. He might be crazy, but he wasn't Steve “let’s crash in the middle of the goddamn ocean” Rogers crazy. The problem was, there were very limited hotels that had rooms, and they were forced into the smallest room there possibly was. Hell, Clint was pretty sure at this point he’d be sleeping on the floor because the bed was so small, he wasn’t sure they could both fit, especially if Natasha was drunk.

And then there was the fact that Natasha was drunk, especially playing a game Clint swore she cheated at. But tonight her mind seemed preoccupied, and she was making careless mistakes. The most careless being her slip about Alexei, as if Clint would forget about that detail. Natasha mostly kept her eyes on the window as they played the game she had picked for the time being and Clint wasn’t sure how involved she wanted to get with the conversation.

“Shot someone with a crossbow.”

Clint sighed. “Drink. Dresden, 2009… twice.” Natasha looked over at him before she took a drink. As she opened her mouth he shook his head. “What’s this all about?” he asked. “You are either preoccupied, or you are purposely getting drunk because you are avoiding something. And as much as I love you, because I do, I’m not a fan of drunk you. And you are well on your way there so… what gives?”

“Blunt much?” Natasha reached again and Clint snatched it up and stood. “Dick.”

“Thank you,” Clint replied, blowing Natasha a kiss as he went to put their alcohol up. “Is it because you are going stir crazy?” Natasha was silent, her eyes back outside. “Nat? Natasha.” 

Clint crossed his arms and watched her from the limited distance he had. She had that far away look in her eyes, something he was intimately familiar with. At some point Natasha had turned that switch on and he hadn’t caught it soon enough. Now she was stuck somewhere. Clint sighed and grabbed the blanket off their bed and sat down next to her, covering them both. He pulled her close and fitted his head on top of hers, watching the rain outside being whipped by the wind.

“Sometimes I wonder what we are doing.” Clint blinked and glanced down at the mass of red hair. He tilted his head a little. “Why are we still doing this? How long can we last?”

“Define?” Clint asked.

Natasha turned and Clint removed his head from atop hers. She leaned against the wall across from him and stretched her legs out. Clint automatically rested his hands on top of her feet and rubbed them lightly. Clint wouldn’t describe her as nervous, maybe reluctant? Natasha was rarely in this form anymore and was harder to peg when it came to this range of emotions. She crossed her arms over her chest and she observed his hands at work.

“Us.”

“Us?” Clint asked. “Why are we still… dating?” he asked. This wasn’t a conversation he saw coming, taking him by surprise.

“Not… necessarily,” Natasha answered. She reached up. “How long can we stay like this. How long can we stay content doing the same thing day in and day out.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call our last mission standard quo,” Clint answered.

Natasha groaned and turned her head to look back outside. Clint was confused as to where her mind was taking everything, and it seemed she was a little drunker than he had thought because she wasn’t making any sense. Clint wrapped himself tighter into the blanket and looked down at his hands on her foot.

“When are you going to step this up?”

“Excuse me?”

Natasha looked back with a new passion and Clint became still because that look always brought some level of trouble. “When are you going to marry me?”

Clint withdrew his hands from her feet quickly. “Marry you? Where the hell did that come from?”

“What? Hard to believe I’m marriage material?” Natasha asked.

“No!” Clint practically shouted. “I’m confused as to why all of a sudden you want to get married.”

“I have been dropping hints.”

“Oh, well this is going to be a good one to hear. You have?” Clint asked, realizing just how his tone was coming across. Natasha narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms defiantly.

“I sent you that text with that ring. And you  _ got it for me _ .”

Clint stared at her then looked at the ring that was still on her finger. “... babe. Our mission said we were a  _ married couple _ ,” Clint said pointedly. “I just thought maybe you-”

“And before that when we were out shopping we stopped at that store and I was pointing out the different ones I liked.”

“Wait, what?” Clint asked. “I thought you were just pointing out the shiny things you liked.” Natasha shot him a look that sent a shiver down his spine; she was somewhere between amused and about to rip his head off, and it was a toss up which would happen first. “Woah, wait. That was dropping hints?”

“... how in the hell did you propose to Bobbi?” Natasha asked in a snappy tone.

“I don’t know! I am still in shock she had said yes in the first place! We literally knew each other for nine days,” Clint replied defensively. “So wait, you are in a mood because I am not picking up the cues that you want to get married?” Natasha reached up and tapped her nose before she pointed at him. “Oh hell, Nat. It’s… what year is it?”

“Twenty-twenty.”

“Right. Maybe  _ you _ should ask  _ me _ for my hand in marriage,” Clint replied.

“Alright, fine,” Natasha said heatedly. “Clint Francis Barton-”

“Nat-”

“Will you fucking marry me already?”

Clint flinched and stared at her. She had moved closer, watching him expectantly. He felt his world narrowing down, felt himself tuning out his surroundings and just taking her in. She looked so determined, so mad, her face a bit splotchy and red. Her fists were clenched and her body was tense. Clint smiled a little and leaned forward, cupping her face. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment and she took a deep breath.

“Ask me again when you aren’t drunk.”

Natasha smacked his hands down. “Clint!”

“Nat- if I am going to marry you, I’m doing it  _ right _ ,” Clint said calmly. “No shotguns, no asking and accepting when either of us is drunk. I want to… I need to do it right this time. Alright? We both deserve that.”

Natasha was frozen in her spot, slowly processing what Clint had said. She relaxed after a minute and let out a shaky breath. “You aren’t saying no.”

“I’m not saying no,” Clint agreed. He tentatively reached back up, pressing the palm of his hand against Natasha’s face and she leaned into it. “I love you, Tasha. It was never going to be a no.” 

Natasha looked at him for a moment more before she rushed forward. Clint laughed and wrapped his arms around her. Maybe sometimes their relationship was sloppy messy. Maybe sometimes they had issues communicating exactly what they wanted or needed from each other. But they always made it work, no matter was thrown their way. And maybe Natasha would remember this in the morning, or maybe she wouldn’t, but now at least knew where to start.


End file.
